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Olympus reports increase in pro�its
O
lympus Corp. declared a 60%
year-on-year gain in its net
pro�it, which amounted to
35.8 billion yen. The company further
announced a 30% increase in its
operational pro�it to 50.1 billion yen on
an income of 395.8 billion yen, which is
a 12% gain. According to the company,factors like pro�it from the sales of
endoscopes and operational pro�it of
the imaging business was better by
20 million yen, for the �irst time in six
years for the �irst six months. After
incurring a loss of nearly 3.7 billion yen
over a year ago, the company turned
its attention towards interchangeablelens mirrorless cameras and compact
cameras. The depreciating yen also
helped in boosting the pro�its. Summing
it up, the sales increased by 10% to
41.5 billion yen. Mirrorless camera
sales went up by 22% to 26.8 billion
yen whereas compact cameras saw a
11% fall, down to 9.6 billion yen.Ricoh announces pro�its for �irst half
of 2015-
Japanese computer manufacturing
giants to merge
Ricoh Corp. declared a 0.4% increase
in its pro�its to 56.1 billion yen. The
company’s net pro�it increased by 1.7%
to 34.5 billion yen. A 6.1% gain to 1095
billion yen was noted. Strong sales
generated by multifunctional printers,
photocopiers along with IT-related
services along with the industrial
segment’s performance was cited as a
reason for the enhanced pro�its.The Imaging and Solutions (of�ice
equipment) segment’s sale increased
by 6.9% to 978 billion yen and the
operational pro�it dropped by 3.7% to
78.6 billion yen. Due to the vast A4 MFPToshiba, Fujitsu and Vaio are planning
to integrate their personal computer
operations. This integration will place
the companies on top in the domestic
PC market with a share of more than
30%. But their presence in the shrinking
global market will reduce to a measly
4.2%, which is not enough to compete
with the Chinese and US giants. IDC—a
US research �irm—reports that global
PC shipments touched 363.82 millionlineup and improved marketing in East
Europe by purchasing companies like
Chez and Impromat, the of�ice imaging
segment witnessed a rise by 3.4%. The
production printing section sales went
up by 21.6%.Sales of the network system increased
by 14.6%, also improving services
in the foreign markets by acquiring
UK and Malaysian companies. The
Industrial Business segment sales
increased by 11.1% to 63.4 billion yen
with an 8.8% increase in pro�its to 6.
billion yen. Sales of other segments
including digital cameras dropped byunits in 2011. Low-priced machines are
hot sellers in developing nations, which
increases hurdles as pro�it margins
grow thin. Market leaders are looking at
drastic restructuring for survival. China’s
Lenovo Group with a share of 19.6% from
January to September, embarked on a
5% workforce reduction in August due
to its shrinking computer operations and
other factors. Taiwan’s Acer also reduced
its work force by 7% and product lines11.4% to 53.7 billion yen. However,
the operational pro�it rose by 2.5% to
1.3 billion yen.High-end compact cameras like
the GR II and the Ricoh WG-40W
performed well and the company also
promoted the Theta S. The company
has revised its projection to 2300
billion yen in comparison to the
earlier 2320 billion yen. The estimate
for operational pro�it has been
changed to 116 billion yen from 140
billion yen. The net pro�it has been
estimated as 71 billion yen from the
earlier 83 billion yen.to bring in some net pro�it in 2014 after a
period of loss from 2011-2013.The integration plan by the three Japanese
players is expected to improve the
companies’ abilities to negotiate with parts’
suppliers. They will also share factories
and sales channels. A strong emphasis on
design and building the brand could help
PC makers towards a growth-marked path,
a model akin to that of Apple.20
Smart PhotographyJanuary 2016http://www.smartphotography.in